“To me, it was Just a Vice”. Stigma and Other Barriers to Gambling Treatment in Piedmont, Italy

In Piedmont (northwestern Italy), as in the rest of the Western world, only a small percentage\r\nof the estimated problem gamblers (10–20%) turn to a treatment service to overcome\r\ntheir addiction issues. The study sought to gain a better understanding of the cultural\r\nfactors that stand in the way of seeking help, thorough qualitative in-depth individual\r\ninterviews with gamblers both in and out of treatment. A total of 30 interviews were\r\nconducted in three different health districts, most via video-call. Data were then analyzed\r\nusing an abductive approach. The findings appear to indicate that the processes of stigma\r\naffecting problem gamblers and public gambling treatment services are the main barriers\r\nto seeking help. According to the interviewees, awareness of the problem is a necessary\r\nbut not sufficient motivator for embarking on treatment, since social stigmatization leads\r\nthem to hide the problem. Moreover, self-stigmatization processes seem to undermine the\r\nsense of self-efficacy that plays a key role in recovery. To encourage help-seeking, the\r\nstudy thus suggests that priority should be given to efforts to reduce stigma, i.e., through\r\ninformational and educational measures together with advocacy interventions, which aim\r\nprimarily to reframe the gambling problem, shifting responsibility from the individual to\r\nthe collective level.